The jury panel of the Japan Car of the Year (JCOTY) announced its finalists for the 2022/23 awards. Although normally 10 finalists are listed, for this occasion 11 were chosen, all of them featured in the value for money or price/product ratio.
This is explained because according to the Japan Car of the Year Implementation Regulations, “If the number of nominations for 10th place is the same, both models will be added to the finalist pool.”
The cars will be judged at Sodegaura Forest Raceway in late November, by a 60-person panel comprised of automotive writers and journalists, and industry experts. The winner of the annual awards will be announced on December 8, 2022.
Last year, the Japan Car of the Year award went to the Nissan Note Aura e-Powerwhile a year earlier it was won by subaru levorg.
The list of the ’10 best’ cars for the JCOTY award are as follows:
- Hyundai Ionic 5
- Honda Civic e:HEV / Civic Type R
- Land Rover Range Rover
- bmw ix
- Mazda CX-60 e-Skyactiv D
- Nissan Fairlady Z
- Nissan X-Trail
- suzuki alto
- toyota crown
- Nissan Sakura / Mitsubishi eK X EV
- renault arkana
Along with the Japan Car of the Year award, the jury awards other awards: Import Car of the Year, Best Design of the Year, Technology Car of the Year, Sports Car of the Year and Kei Car of the Year.